


Back to Baker Street

by sapphicpinup



Series: Back to Baker Street [1]
Category: Disney Animated Fandoms, Disney Cartoons (Classic), The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Friendship, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 15:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3387380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicpinup/pseuds/sapphicpinup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 1906 London, seventeen-year-old Olivia Flaversham is faced with an especially puzzling mystery: the sudden disappearance of Basil of Baker Street. With the help of Basil's nephew Jonathan and Dr. David Q. Dawson, Olivia must try to find both the renowned detective and the reasons behind his disappearance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hardly a Bairn

Olivia Flaversham watched in wonder as her father worked on the new wind-up toy dancers that had been ordered for a customer's daughter. Even after she turned seventeen, the way her father's toys worked never ceased to amaze the girl. The final products moved so gracefully, even more so than any dancer Olivia had seen in real life. They reminded her of the toy ballerina her father had given her for her eighth birthday, years before. That toy was far more beautiful, though. 

"Daddy, they're wonderful!" said Olivia. "That little girl will love them!" Suddenly, though, one of the dancers' heads sprang out. "Oh no," said Olivia's father. "Hold on, Daddy." Olivia had been observing him for years and knew just what was wrong. She opened up the toy dancer's body, adjusted the mechanisms on the inside, and closed it again. She wound up the dancer again and this time it worked perfectly. 

"Excellent!" said her father, smiling at Olivia. "Your mum would be impressed, you know."

Olivia beamed, but then her look turned solemn. "Daddy," she said after a pause. "What...what happened to her? Mum, I mean." 

Her father paused, looking at Olivia with regret. "She was sick, dear." he said reluctantly. "She passed away when you were hardly a bairn. But she loved you very much. You remember that." 

Olivia was puzzled at her father's vague explanation. "But how did she-" 

"She was very sick, Olivia! That's all there is to it." her father interrupted. 

Olivia drew back, thinking it best not to ask any more about the matter for now. She tried not to let him see her face fall and helped her father put away all of the tools and package the dancers in a gift box to be given to the little girl who would be receiving them.

That night young Olivia lied awake for a while, looking out into the streets of London and wondering why Daddy didn't want to tell her any more about her mother. Perhaps it was just too painful to talk about. But then why did he become so cross with her? She tried to ignore the questions that were eating away at her and get some sleep, but with great difficulty. She was very sick, she thought as she drifted off to sleep. _I was hardly a bairn..._


	2. Breakfast at Baker Street

At 221 1/2 Baker Street, the renowned detective Basil had risen first, as usual. The silence of the house always allowed him some peace, especially between cases. He stood by the window, smoking his pipe and enjoying the quiet until he heard his nephew Jonathan, who was staying with Basil for as long as his mother and father were away on a second honeymoon, enter the front parlor. Basil and his nephew had always been rather close, living in close neighbourhoods and sharing an interest in crime-solving. When the boy was only a child, the detective had usually let Jonathan watch closely as he worked with his chemistry set, though his nephew must have known very little about the science. But he'd always been thrilled by Basil's recounts of his cases, especially his first case with Major Dr. David Q. Dawson, in which Basil had finally beaten the wicked Professor Ratigan. It was always Jonathan's favorite story, ever since he heard it after meeting Dr. Dawson for the first time. 

Without turning around, Basil recognized his nephew simply by the lazy way the young man shuffled into the room, as many teenagers seemed to walk early in the morning. "Good morning, Jonathan," said Basil, putting out his pipe and setting it down on a small table. "Sleep well, young fellow?" 

"Good morning, Uncle Basil," Jonathan yawned. He would have stayed in bed a bit longer, but he was simply restless this morning. "Well enough, I suppose. I don't know what it was, there was just something that felt odd about last night..." the young man trailed off, letting out another yawn and trying to remember exactly what had been on his mind the previous night. Perhaps it was only the noises of the bustling streets of London, or just the occasional sleepless night. 

"Now, I wouldn't worry about it, chap," said Basil, breaking the boy's thoughts. "Why don't you go wake Mrs. Judson and have her start on breakfast?" Jonathan did as his uncle said and gently woke the old woman in her bedroom. Mrs. Judson rose with a wide yawn and a few minutes later she had begun to make cheese omelets for everyone.

Dr. Dawson awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking. The last awake, he changed into some suitable clothing and met the rest in the dining room. "Good morning, all," he said sitting down. 

"Good morning Dawson," said Jonathan, as Mrs. Judson set down his plate in front of him. He nodded to her in thanks. Basil was much too distracted by his newspaper to say anything more than a muttered thanks to the woman. It was like him to let his mind wander until it landed on a single issue and stayed there for quite a while. After a few minutes of silent eating, Jonathan sat up straight and turned to his uncle. "Uncle Basil," he said, prompting Basil to finally look away from his paper. "When was the last time you solved a murder? Or a kidnapping, maybe? Those cases seem much more interesting." 

"Now, Jonathan," said Basil with a slight laugh. "Surely you don't think it's fun to see anyone hurt?" 

"Oh no, Uncle Basil," he backtracked "It's just that they sound exciting. And besides, it does sound like it would be gratifying to bring those scoundrels to justice." He couldn't help but grin just as he had when he'd heard those stories as a child. 

"It's never fun, lad. In my line of work, no one is safe, you know." Now Basil was beginning to become more serious. 

"The man's right," Dawson said. "You might realize it if it ever happens to you." 

"Well," said Jonathan. "I didn't exactly mean 'fun', just more of a mystery, you know." He was growing frustrated with their inability to comprehend his intentions, but he remained polite about it. 

"Yes, well, it's thrilling alright," Basil muttered, picking up his newspaper again. "But I don't know that you understand the tragedy of those situations." Jonathan rolled his eyes. Of course he knew how tragic it was! But the worse the situation, the more glad he would be if he were to find the one behind it. 

"Oh, and to answer your question, Jonathan, it's been four years." Just as Basil said it, a thud was heard in the kitchen. The men rushed in to find that - much to their shock - Mrs. Judson had collapsed on the floor.


	3. Shock, is All

Olivia was awake that morning long before her father. She worried for him sometimes. If he couldn't tell the girl anything more about her mother, it must have been dreadful to think about. Still Olivia wondered. She had wondered for as long as she could remember. But before the previous day, she'd always been too afraid of offending her father to ask. She sat on her bed holding her ballerina doll carefully, so that it wouldn't break again. Her father had worked hard to fix it years ago, after Professor Ratigan had broken it.

Once she heard footsteps from the hallway, Olivia stepped out of her room and saw her father, who had just woken up. "Good morning, Daddy," she said timidly. "Good morning, Olivia," said Hiram. "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, I suppose." Olivia wasn't sure if she should tell her father what she was really thinking, or that she really hadn't slept so well with the thoughts of what could've happened to her mother. "I'm sorry I was sort of cross last night, dear," Hiram yawned, sounding to Olivia as if he didn't think anything of her curiosity. "Why don't we go over to Basil's for breakfast?" This was a usual custom for the Flavershams ever since the case ended nine years ago. Occasionally they would join the detective for some of Mrs. Judson's delightful cheese omelets, which she made every Sunday morning. "Alright, Father," Olivia said, and turned back into her bedroom to get dressed.

Olivia was mostly silent on the way to 221 1/2 Baker Street, still wondering. As she looked out the window of the cab practically hundreds of possibilities rushed through the young lady's mind. Her father's words still stuck in her head as she thought of what could have happened. All she really knew now was that it was some sort of sickness, and that she clearly would have been much too young to remember anything. Her thoughts were broken when the cab came to a halt in front of the home of Basil of Baker Street.

Olivia knocked on the door, and she and Hiram waited for a moment until it was answered by a young man nearly Olivia's age. "Uncle Basil," he called. Basil hurried to see who was there, welcomed the Flavershams inside, then rushed back into the kitchen to check on Mrs. Judson. Olivia followed close behind to see what was the matter. 

"Goodness!" she exclaimed upon seeing Mrs. Judson struggling to stand. "What's happened?" 

"It seems she collapsed out of shock, Miss Flangerhanger," Basil said. Olivia rolled her eyes, but didn't bother to correct him. If he couldn't get her name right after knowing her for nine years, she doubted he ever would. "Don't worry, though. Breakfast is on the table. Help yourself. Jonathan, you go too. Dawson and I should have her feeling better soon enough." The young man, apparently named Jonathan, led Olivia into the dining room, where they and Hiram finished their breakfast. 

"Miss...Flanchester, was it?" said Jonathan, recognizing the name from Basil's retelling of his first case with Dr. Dawson. 

"Flaversham, actually," Olivia corrected. "Olivia Flaversham." 

"Oh, so that's the name? I have heard quite a few variations of it before." 

"As have I," she smiled.

A few minutes later, Dawson brought Mrs. Judson, who seemed to be feeling much better, into the dining room. "What was it, Mrs. Judson?" Olivia said. 

"Oh, it's nothing really," Dr. Dawson replied instead. "Just her mind playing tricks on her, is all." Olivia was relieved that the old woman would be alright, but still wondered what she'd seen- well, thought she'd seen. Dawson was soon followed by Basil, who was clearly deep in serious thought.

Olivia and Hiram spent most of the rest of the day at Baker Street, visiting with their old friends and getting to know Jonathan, who they learned was Basil's nephew. At one point Basil invited Hiram to take a look at the latest article written about him and Dr. Dawson in the newspaper. "You must read it, Mr. Flagham! It was a perfect account!" By that he most likely meant that it contained nothing but the highest of praises for him. He was a good man, really, he was. But he could never help but bask in any glory given to him. "Come along, Dawson." Olivia rolled her eyes with a slight smile, and the three men went into the other room, leaving only herself, Jonathan, and Mrs. Judson, who had fallen asleep, in the front parlour.

Several minutes later, Olivia was nearly through telling her version of the Flaversham case to her new acquaintance, "Now, I'm not supposed to condone violence, of course, but I must say there was something so gratifying about chomping down on that nasty old rat's hand." She chuckled proudly. "Not to mention saving your uncle's life," she beamed.

"Did you?" Jonathan replied. "He never told it to me that way."

"And how exactly did he tell it to you?" She inquired defensively.

"I suppose it was the more common formula: the daring hero and his trusty companion save the toymaker and his helpless daughter and defeat the wicked schemer who had endangered them. I don't recall him ever mentioning you having saved him."

"Well, I guess I'll have to go inform him that he's been found out," she said in mock sternness. She stood and made her way to the doorway dividing the parlour and the den, but stopped before she could enter, overhearing a name she hadn't heard in quite a long while being brought up in their conversation. 

"Jillian was already ill," he was saying. "And the labour made her too weak. She passed on a few hours after Olivia was born. I just didn't want her to think it was her own fault..." 

Olivia inhaled sharply and stepped back from the door, pushing her hair behind her ear. Her expression turned grave and her hands started to shake. It was all she could do to contain her anxiety, at least in front of Jonathan and the already stressed Mrs. Judson. How could this have happened because of her? Unbeknownst to Hiram, his fear had been realized. If he thought she would blame herself, he must have thought she had reason to. She wouldn't dare tell him that she knew, though.

After Olivia and her father had returned home, she immediately went to her bedroom, saying that she was much too full and tired for dinner. That night, she stayed awake again for some time, haunted by the truth that no one would knowingly tell her, and for a good reason. If it weren't for me, she'd still be here, she thought, fighting back tears. _I'm only alive because she isn't._ The girl was devastated. Her very existence was at the expense of her mother's.


	4. Painfully Obvious

Jonathan had been puzzled by the way Olivia had been acting during the last couple of hours that she and her father had been at his uncle's house. She'd seemed distracted, upset even. "Is something wrong, Livvy?" he'd asked, using the new nickname he'd given her, not wanting to say "Olivia" every time he talked to the girl. And he was definitely planning to talk to her again sometime. 

"It's nothing, really," she had replied. "I'm just a bit tired, is all." Still he worried. She was clearly lying, and he didn't need Basil's intelligence to realize it. He wondered if she'd seen or heard something when she went to speak to Basil that night.

"Uncle Basil," he said a few hours after the Flavershams left. "Did you notice anything...odd about the way that girl was acting before she left?" 

"You know, come to think of it, I did," said Basil with his familiar pondering expression. 

Dawson had noticed as well. "She did seem troubled. I hope she's alright," said the doctor. 

Basil laughed a little. "We could make an entire case out of this, Dawson!" he said with some delight, which jarred the other two. "Now, Jonathan, what exactly did you see that struck you as especially odd?" 

"Well," Jonathan began. "We were talking about her father's kidnapping and she went to go talk to you, but she didn't go into the room." 

Basil's slight smile faded. 

"Something must have happened by the door. She looked upset, like she was about to go into a panic." 

Basil suddenly remembered that Olivia hadn't been told about Jillian Flaversham's fate.

Dawson was a bit sullen. "Basil," he said worriedly. "You don't think she may have heard us, do you?"

"Of course," Basil exclaimed, slapping his hand to his forehead. "It's so simple!" 

Jonathan was confused. "Heard you? What did she hear?" 

Basil and Dr. Dawson calmly explained the circumstances to him. Jonathan was surprised at them. What right did they have to know this instead of Olivia? "Well, it's no wonder she was so upset!" he nearly shouted. "If everyone thinks it should be kept from her, what is she supposed to think when she finds out, if she hasn't already?" He didn't exactly know why it angered him personally so much, but this couldn't have been right. _Poor Livvy_ , he found himself thinking.

After Jonathan had gone to sleep, Basil and Dawson were regretful, and pitied Olivia as well, realizing that she did have a right to know about her mother. But it was her father's place to tell her himself if she didn't know already. 

"But why do you think Jonathan was so angry?" Dawson inquired. 

Basil rolled his eyes. As usual, he'd figured it out long before the doctor. "Oh, Doctor, isn't it painfully obvious?" he almost laughed. "Didn't you notice his expression upon meeting the young lady? Why, he's smitten!" 

Dawson hadn't noticed any insinuations of infatuation in the young man's behavior, but nevertheless he had to agree. After all, if anyone could catch these things even in their slightest forms, Basil could. "Yes," he said. "Come to think of it, I did. But it's getting quite late. Perhaps this gossip can wait for another time. Goodnight, Basil."

"Goodnight," Basil muttered back, probably already focused on another task. At this point, Dawson had become so accustomed to it that he usually didn't turn around to see what it was.

The next morning, Jonathan entered the front parlour expecting to see his uncle smoking a pipe, deep in thought, But to his surprise, there was no one there. He looked in his uncle's bedroom and all over the house, and when he simply couldn't find Basil, he woke Dr. Dawson and Mrs. Judson to tell them something was wrong.


	5. A Cool Head

The next afternoon, Olivia went over to visit Basil without her father to try and focus on something other than the secret, which she would no longer specify to herself. For the time being, she simply couldn't face Hiram with her newfound knowledge. She had hardly gotten any sleep the previous night and still couldn't stop thinking of her poor mother. She had trembled while getting dressed in the morning, still trying to contain her regretful sobs. However, by the time she arrived at 221 1/2 Baker Street, some of the shock and upset had worn off and mostly guilt was left.

When she knocked on the door, it was again answered by her new friend Jonathan, who seemed more worried than the previous night. "Is something wrong, Jonathan?" she asked, puzzled. Then she realized the irony in her words, considering she refused Jonathan the truth before. 

"It's Uncle Basil," he said, not seeming to see it as well. "Something's wrong. He's gone. Nowhere to be found!" 

"That's ridiculous!" Olivia exclaimed in denial. "Basil's much too smart to just disappear overnight! Are you sure he isn't just on an errand?" She entered the house to find Dr. Dawson searching the front parlour and a fretting Mrs. Judson sitting on the loveseat taking heavy breaths. 

"He would have told someone," said Jonathan. "Or left a note. And we've searched every inch of the house, Livvy. There's nothing." 

"That's not possible." She pushed past Jonathan and started to search the house herself. 

"Livvy," Jonathan stopped her. "We've already looked through all of that!" 

Olivia stopped looking, and tried to stop shaking as well, having only noticed just now that she was. Jonathan tried to tell her to calm down, but she seemed to be fretting even more than Mrs. Judson. Then she told herself just to breathe deeply and try to keep a cool head. "Right," she said, and stopped trembling. "Of course you have."

Dr. Dawson alerted the constable as Jonathan stayed in the parlour with Olivia, making sure that she kept calm as best she could, and, all things considered, they were somewhat successful. Soon Olivia was acting the way she would under average circumstances, sweetly and even somewhat innocently. She was never really as "proper" as other young women in London, still brimming with as much curiosity as one her age could have. She would still light up when she was fascinated by even the simplest things, the same way she had been for as long as she could remember. As much trouble she'd been through when she was eight years old, she was always glad to know that it had far from changed her completely.

Soon Dr. Dawson was back inside after speaking with the constable, who had assured an investigation as soon as possible. At first, Olivia still wasn't convinced that Basil had really gone. But soon after another, more quiet search, she found that he'd left his tweed hat behind. Dawson had already gone to see if Toby had disappeared as well. Perhaps if Toby wasn't there, Basil was simply on a case requiring immediate action. But, to little surprise, Toby was asleep in the gentleman Mr. Holmes' study. Either Basil had run off for some odd reason, or something dreadful had happened.


	6. Good Boy

About two weeks after the search for Basil of Baker Street by the police had gone underway, the officers gave up the investigation and called it off. This left his friends and family, especially Jonathan, angered and frightened. 

"How could they just give up like this?" he said to Basil's friends one afternoon at Baker Street. His mother and father had returned from their trip, but the young man still spent most of his time at 221 1/2 with the others, hoping for news of progress in the search until it was called off.

While Jonathan had always had great faith in his uncle's cunning and intelligence, he couldn't deny that he was concerned for Basil. Toby hadn't gone, and Basil's hat was left behind, both signs that something had surely gone wrong. "Wait a moment," he said as he sat with Olivia, both of them trying to figure a reason behind his sudden disappearance. He turned to her, an idea manifesting in his brain. "Toby hasn't gone!" 

"No," said Olivia, without the slightest clue what he could be thinking. "He hasn't, but what does that have to do with anything?" 

Jonathan laughed a little. "Think about it, Livvy! Toby could help us!" 

Olivia lit up when she realized what her friend was getting at. "Of course! Why, he's just the chap for this, isn't he?" She laughed a bit with him. 

"And from there," Jonathan said with a slightly more serious tone. "Maybe we could find him ourselves!" 

"'We'?" 

"Come now, Livvy, I must've heard your story a million times since I was a boy! And from what I've heard, there's almost no one better for this case! Except for maybe Dawson." 

Olivia couldn't quite remember anything about Basil's version of the story that would suggest her to be especially fit for the task. "I don't know, Jonathan," she said apprehensively. "It could be dangerous." She motioned to her father discreetly to remind Jonathan that Hiram wouldn't want her in danger. As she said it, Hiram stood up and stepped toward her and Jonathan. 

"If you two are going to put yourselves at this much risk, I'm coming along," he said, even though he couldn't have been unaware of the even higher risk that would come with his tagging along. 

"Absolutely not," Olivia insisted. "It's much too dangerous for you! And I'll not have you taken from me again!" Just then, Dawson stepped in. 

"Mr. Flaversham, perhaps I could join them," he suggested. "I am quite experienced, if I may say so myself." Hiram pondered it for a moment, but soon realized that it would be better for Dawson to go instead and agreed to the compromise.

That night, Olivia and Jonathan cautiously sneaked into Mr. Holmes's parlour to seek out Toby, who was curled up on the floor. They were soon followed by Dr. Dawson, who was sure to be careful around the dog, who still hadn't quite warmed up to him. 

"Toby," said Olivia, tapping the hound gently to get his attention. Toby woke with a start, and once he saw Olivia he wagged his tail excitedly and seemed to grin widely. Olivia laughed and scratched him underneath the chin, which was as far as she could reach now. "Silly doggy," she giggled. 

Jonathan immediately brought a more serious air into the room when he mentioned Basil. "Now, Toby," he said sternly, holding up Basil's hat. "See if you can pick up his scent." Toby already knew about the disappearance and was clearly more than willing to help them. He sniffed all over the hat and bent his head down to let Olivia, Jonathan, and Dawson climb on. "Good boy," said Jonathan, a bit more lighthearted. Soon they were all outside, beginning their search for the great Basil of Baker Street.


	7. Amazing Things, Automobiles

"Wait," Olivia called out as the group passed a familiar street. Toby halted and looked at her strangely. "Are...are we going in circles?" 

Jonathan looked around. "You're right!" he said in surprise. "Toby, you've brought us right back to Baker Street!" Toby looked down shamefully. 

"Oh, Toby," Olivia sighed sympathetically. "You're getting to be an old dog, aren't you?" She was beginning to realize that Toby had lost either his sense of direction or his sense of smell. Perhaps both. 

"Well," said Dr. Dawson as he slid down from the hound's tail. "What do we do now?" 

Jonathan jumped off of Toby and helped Olivia down. "I suppose we should go on foot then..." he said, a bit dejected. 

"We could take a cab!" Olivia suggested as one stopped near them and let off a human. The three hurried to catch it and climbed up onto an odd-looking ledge that was designed for humans to step into the car. "Amazing things, automobiles!" Olivia yelled over the car's exhaust once they were in motion, thrilled from the experience. 

"If you say so," Dawson replied, trying hard just to stay on. Jonathan and Olivia gave each other the same look while stifling their laughter. The doctor had a reputation among his friends for being particularly inept with new technology.

Once the car stopped, everyone found themselves and the driver stuck somewhere on London Bridge. "Why on earth would he stop here?" Dawson wondered out loud to the other two, only to find that Jonathan was gone. Dawson and Olivia looked around for him until they heard him call out. 

"Don't think it was his own decision, Doctor..." Jonathan was examining the car's undercarriage, which the driver had opened and was now and had found that the engine appeared to have been shot - literally. Dawson and Olivia caught up with him there to take a look for themselves. 

"But how did the driver not notice? And how did the gunman reach it to begin with?" Dawson was still perplexed.

"Doctor, you don't have to be Basil for it to be all too easy to figure out." Olivia said matter-of-factly. "The bullethole is much too small for a human to have done it. The gunman must have been underneath the hood." 

Jonathan nodded in agreement.

"But why," Dawson said, still confused. "Would they want to stop the car?" 

"Why do you think, Dawson?" said Jonathan, surprised at how little the doctor could put together after years in this business. "They aren't trying to stop the car, they're trying to stop _us_."


	8. Familiar Friends

"Why would someone be trying to stop us?" Olivia prompted an explanation.

Jonathan shrugged. "Well," he began, trying to think of what he'd learned from observing his uncle over the years. "Well, uh, it could be for...Well, for any number of reasons, really. Maybe Basil was kidnapped and the culprits don't want to be caught. Or maybe...maybe..." 

Olivia ignored his stammering and shook her head again. "It isn't possible! Basil's much too smart to get kidnapped!" 

"Well," Jonathan said more confidently, not wanting to seem foolish at all. "Oh, come now, Livvy. Anything is possible, really. And besides, why would he have left his hat if he was going somewhere on his own?" 

"I don't know!" Olivia exclaimed in frustration. Jonathan couldn't help but notice how her Scottish accent thickened when she spoke fervently. "But I refuse to believe that Basil of Baker Street was taken!" She started to tremble a bit. 

"Now, now, Olivia," Dawson chimed in quietly. "Do try to, uh, compose yourself." 

Olivia looked at Dawson for a second, and tried to stop shaking. "I'm just fine, Doctor," she said looking away and straightening herself. "Thank you." Sometimes she found herself behaving almost as though she was still a child, like when she would almost deny her foolish mannerisms. She always tried her best to stop herself when this happened, but it was quite often and sometimes she simply couldn't help it.

Jonathan sighed, feeling foolish, hopeless, and altogether lost. "I don't think this car will be going anywhere soon. So what do we do now?" 

Olivia had no answer, so she looked at Dr. Dawson to see if he had any ideas. Dawson rubbed his chin in thought. "An old colleague of mine still lives around here, I believe," he said finally. "Perhaps he could help us!" 

"But how do we get there?" Jonathan asked. 

"Catch a train, perhaps?" Olivia said as though it must've been the obvious answer, seeing as the train station wasn't too far away to walk. Jonathan and Dawson nodded slightly in agreement.

At the train station, Olivia had to try very hard to keep herself contained. She had been okay for most of the trip so far, but now that she was surrounded by large crowds of people, she felt herself begin to shake again. But through all of her attempts to hide it, it would never get by any of her friends, especially Jonathan. He tried to avoid touching her, for fear it would worsen it.

"You alright, Livvy?" he said, making her turn around. 

"Hm? Oh," Olivia looked down. "Yes, I'm just fine, Jonathan. Don't worry, now." But as the queue started to move again, the other patrons pushed against the young woman, starting to worsen her anxiety. She could feel herself start to shake more violently and even start to hyperventilate a bit. Ironically, this always seemed to make her even more nervous, and the fear of having an anxiety attack in public only made it worse. 

"Livvy, it's alright..." Jonathan said, not knowing what to do or how to help. 

"I know," Olivia cut him off quickly. "I know. I just...I just can't help it, you know." She was almost apologetic for it, which in turn made Jonathan worry even more. "Jonathan," Olivia said, changing the subject. "You remember when Mrs. Judson collapsed, don't you?" 

"Yes," Jonathan nodded. "Of course."

Olivia furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you think it was that she saw?" 

Jonathan thought for a moment. "Well, it must've been dreadful to make someone faint. Then again, she is pretty old." 

"Oh, I can't imagine-" Olivia started to speak, but now Dawson had paid for all of their tickets and they had to board the train.

Once aboard the train, Olivia had calmed down significantly, to hers and - unbeknownst to the young woman - Jonathan's relief. She felt more like herself again, which always pleased her. While she reprimanded herself for acting childish at times, she couldn't really deny that it was better than being anxious. So, on occasion, she allowed herself to be a bit childish. It was nice to have a break from maturity, after all.

Jonathan was glad to see Olivia more settled. He'd been afraid she would have some kind of breakdown in the queue back at the station. Deciding not to fret any more about it for now, he let his mind turn back to his curiosity about the Flaversham case. 

"Livvy," he said, finally breaking a long silence. Olivia seemed to have been daydreaming, or perhaps just in deep thought, for a while, but now her thoughts were broken and she turned attentively toward him. "If you don't mind my asking, why did Ratigan want your father in the first place?" 

"Oh!" she said, now just as focused on the story as Jonathan. "Well, my daddy's a toymaker, you see, and that depraved old rat wanted him to build some kind of... animatronic queen. I don't know. I suppose it made sense to him. Wanted to take over all of mousedom." She started to laugh now that she realized how silly Ratigan's plan had been. 

"Sounds ridiculous," Jonathan laughed with her. "Uncle Basil was right. He was twisted. I don't suppose your father made many toys after that, did he?" 

"Oh, he talked about giving it up for good, but he just loves it too much. I guess some of that rubbed off on me over all that time. There's just something so wonderful about the way they work. They just move so gracefully if you fix them up right." Olivia lit up talking about it. "He gave me the most beautiful ballerina doll for my eighth birthday. And if you wind it up, it'll dance and play music and...it's just amazing." 

Jonathan smiled. It seemed to him that the subject was distracting to Livvy - in a good way, of course. But before he could comment on that, the train stopped abruptly. There was some sort of disturbance on the roof. Jonathan could guess that much from the strange noises coming from on top of the train. 

"What the..." Olivia trailed off, listening intently. 

"It almost sounds like...footsteps." Jonathan said, puzzled, since one foot sounded harder than the other. "Livvy?"

Olivia looked around hurriedly for a way up to the roof. Surely this was the same fellow trying to stop the group. 

"Olivia?" Jonathan turned around to see that Dr. Dawson had said this, having noticed that she was now between cars and about to climb up onto the roof. Jonathan and the doctor rushed after her, but she was already on top of the train. 

"Miss Flaversham," Dawson called. "You must get back inside immediately. It's too dangerous out here!" 

"He's right," Jonathan concurred. "Suppose the train starts moving again!" But Olivia didn't hear either of them. Instead she stood still in shocked silence. Jonathan climbed up after her to see that she was gaping at something a short distance away. He was confused when he found that someone had dropped a newsboy's cap on the roof. "Who could have-" he stopped when he looked up and saw another fellow almost as still as Olivia was. But this was no mouse. 

"Fidget." Jonathan heard Olivia hiss. 

"Fidget?" he repeated in surprise. But before anyone could react, they were all jolted when the train went back into motion.


	9. Quick Thinking

Olivia, Jonathan, and Fidget all had to try their hardest to stay on top of the train, with Dawson clutching onto the car door below them. The doctor hadn't the slightest idea what the other two were doing on the roof, but he couldn't go up to see. Instead he tried to look up from an angle that would make them visible to them.

Olivia was still shocked. How was this possible? The old crippled bat had been dead for nine years! "You can't be alive, Fidget!" she yelled over the train's chugging. "It's not possible!" 

"I'm a bat," Fidget called back almost mockingly, gesturing to his wings. "Remember?" 

"But you can't fly!" Now Olivia was angry as well. 

"I've found I can hover." 

Jonathan realized that this was the crippled bat that his uncle had always spoken so low of. Ratigan's "peg-legged lackey". But he'd heard that Fidget was thrown into the river Thames years ago! 

"You know what happened to Basil," he called indignantly to his uncle's old enemy. "Don't you?" 

"Sorry kid," the bat replied in the same mocking tone. "That's classified." 

"You're the one who's been trying to stop us! You shot that man's engine!" 

"Oh, that was a cinch. And I still got the gun, so you better watch your mouths,the both a' ya'!" 

Olivia glared at Fidget. "He's bluffing," she said to Jonathan, making sure Fidget could hear her calling him out. 

"Listen girlie," the bat replied with irritation. "You watch yourself, or I know someone who ain't afraid to take care of ya'!" Olivia's expression turned from anger to a horrifying realisation. She started to shake, and let herself, since she figured the movement of the train would cover it up.

Dawson still couldn't see above him, but he heard the sound of Fidget's voice and was horrified at the possibility that Professor Ratigan could still be alive as well. He was a genius after all, and could have stayed hidden all those years with his twisted expertise. The man feared for his friends on the roof, and also for Basil, who was quite likely to be in Ratigan's grasp at that very moment.

However, Olivia knew that Basil was far too intelligent to be fooled by the sewer rat again. "You listen, Fidget!" she hissed, trying to mask her fear. "I wasn't afraid of your boss before, and I'm not afraid of him now!" 

"That's a shame, girlie," Fidget laughed. "Cause nine years is a whole lotta time for planning." Of course, Olivia thought. He wouldn't stay in hiding all this time without planning anything terrible. 

"I'm sure it is," she said almost to herself.

Jonathan stood a few feet away from Olivia, trying to think of how to deal with Fidget, until he realized he could only think to jolt him off of the roof. He cautiously climbed back down between the cars and ran back inside, leaving Olivia on top with their peg-legged adversary. Jonathan stood up on top of one of the seats, drawing attention from the other confused passengers, and tried to find the spot directly below Fidget. He pressed his ear against the ceiling, and when he found that Fidget wasn't there, he jumped down and repeated the process on top of another seat again and again until he found the right spot. Once he had found it, he hopped down and looked for something to hit the ceiling with.

Olivia was surprised at Jonathan for abandoning her the way he did, almost offended. She knew, however, that she needed to wait until later to confront him about it - if Fidget didn't do her in first. With nowhere to run, she stood trying to appear threatening and prepared for anything he could dish out, hoping the bat wouldn't pull his gun on her, as Dr. Dawson went inside the car after Jonathan.

After a short and frantic search, Jonathan finally found the case for the train's fire extinguisher. He yanked it open by the handle and ran with the extinguisher back to the spot that he had found was directly below Fidget. After checking to make sure the bat hadn't moved - in fact, he could still hear the fiend patronizing Olivia in his threatening tone, he started hitting the ceiling with the extinguisher, making a dent that grew significantly with every blow. _Livvy's certainly a brave one_ , he thought as he continued hitting the ceiling forcefully. If she could stay up there alone with that scoundrel, knowing what he's capable of. While he admired her audacity, he feared just what exactly Fidget could be capable of.

Olivia glared at Fidget, who was laughing as he reached into his pocket, presumably to pull out his gun, and shook violently, ignoring the loud metallic clanging coming from the car below them. The girl knew she couldn't let him see that she was afraid. If he knew, he could easily use it to control her. Having learned quite a few life lessons from Basil certainly paid off every now and then. Fidget noticed the clanging and was distracted by the mysterious sound, which stopped him in his tracks. olivia started to back up, planning on going back inside the car and alerting the conductor, until a large hole was gashed right below Fidget, startling him and causing him to jump, giving Olivia time to run, and setting off some kind of chemical foam. She rushed back into the train car, which was filled with chemical foam from a fire extinguisher that was still going off.

Jonathan had almost thought of giving up and making another plan, but soon enough he had made a hole in the ceiling with the fire extinguisher. However, after his success, he found that the trigger on the extinguisher was stuck, and it filled the car with its chemical foam, which made the passengers cough and clouded up the area. Once the trigger was released and the cloud of foam cleared up, Jonathan saw that Olivia had returned to the car, and, upon taking another look outside of the train, that Fidget was nowhere to be seen.

Olivia kept coughing until a few seconds after the foam cleared, and then stormed toward Jonathan. "Are you some sort of coward?" she demanded. "Haven't you learned anything from your uncle? I should think that sniveling old bat should be the least of your fears!" Jonathan would have been offended at her accusation, but after all, he could see how she would assume that he had abandoned the fight. 

"I didn't know what to do!" he defended himself. "I thought a hole in the roof might work." 

Olivia's anger and hurt faded quickly and was replaced with guilt. "Well, next time, you ought to tell me if you have another idea." 

Dr. Dawson had tripped and fallen on a passenger's seat in all of the commotion. Once the car was clear, the muscular mouse who was seated above Dawson glared at him, startling the doctor into nearly falling again as he stood up. "I do beg your pardon, sir," Dawson said shakily as he picked up his bowler hat and placed it back on his head. The doctor rushed over to ask the other two about Fidget.

Just then, Jonathan, Olivia, and Dawson heard the same strange footsteps continue from the top of the next car. The three hurried outside, ignoring the conductor's demands to know what was going on, and found Fidget trying to make a getaway. 

"You stop there, Fidget!" Dawson called out angrily. The bat only laughed in response as he ran and jumped from car to car until he reached the engine and pulled out a revolver. 

Back between the passenger and coal cars, Dawson and Olivia gave each other the same frantic look as Jonathan looked down at the newsboy's cap he had picked up and searched himself for another idea, until one showed itself. With no time to lose, he climbed up onto the roof and followed Fidget to the engine. Olivia and Dawson looked up at him with puzzlement, but, seeing no other alternative, followed after Jonathan to see his solution. Olivia quickly caught up to him on the car just behind the engine, soon followed by Dr. Dawson. 

"Jonathan," she said. "What are you doing?" 

"Just trust me, Livvy," Jonathan replied while strategizing in his head. After a moment of thought, he jumped across to the engine after Fidget and came up unseen behind the peg-legged fiend, clutching the newsboys cap. He hesitated at first, but once he saw Fidget aim his revolver at the train's engine, Jonathan mustered up his courage and pulled back Fidget's head by covering the bat's face with the cap. Fidget shrieked and inadvertently threw his revolver backward and made Jonathan and himself lose their balance.

Olivia tried to get onto the engine quickly, but the train now seemed to be speeding up by the second. She finally reached the engine just as Jonathan and Fidget practically flew backwards off of the train and appeared to fall under the wheels in one of the cars behind her. "Jonathan!" she shrieked in horror as he and Fidget disappeared from sight. Dawson saw the ordeal from the car just behind the engine, and he and Olivia gaped in shock.


	10. The Search Continues

Olivia couldn't look away, or even close her mouth. All she could bring herself to do was blink. She wouldn't even go back into the car, no matter how petrifying it was to keep holding on to the engine. She took short breaths, worrying that if she took a deep one, she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears. Jonathan is dead. She could hardly think anything else. The sight was too much to absorb, so she tried to take in one bit at a time. This usually seemed to help after tragedies, but she hadn't been through very many tragedies in her life, so she wasn't sure it would be any comfort now. But she also wasn't sure if anything else would be any comfort, so she continued. _Jonathan may be dead. Fidget may be dead. They may dead because they fell off of the train and I'm not sure what happened to make them fall off of the train, but they fell off of the train, and now they may dead. Jonathan may be dead._ Olivia hadn't thought of it this way since Basil fell off of Big Ben and she, her father, and Dr. Dawson all believed he had been done for. She had been almost out of sorts then, but having observed how her father's organization got him out of minor ordeals in his business gave her the idea that perhaps organizing her thoughts would be some help. But it was hardly any help now. Besides, when Basil had fallen, he hadn't really died. There seemed to be no way of knowing what had happened to Jonathan.

Her thoughts were broken when the train arrived at the station and came to a stop. She didn't forget for a moment what had just occurred, but she could at least bring herself to get off of the train and find Dawson's colleague. And Basil. Olivia had almost forgotten why they had been on the train to begin with. She tried to compose herself and ignore her shaking and stepped down from the engine to meet Dawson on the platform.

Dr. Dawson could also hardly believe what the two had just seen. Jonathan had always been a good child, and he would certainly be grieved and missed dearly. But at the moment the important thing was to find Basil, so he tried not to be even more grief-stricken when he saw how Miss Olivia was trembling and obviously holding back tears. She was clearly more dejected than he was, but it couldn't possibly help to hide it. Her previously pinned-up hair was tangled and disheveled, and she hardly looked at the doctor. "Now, now, my dear," he tried to comfort the young lady. "It'll be alright. You'll see."

Olivia must have heard this said a thousand times before, but she knew that Dawson meant well. "I know," she said softly, then straightened herself out and brushed off her dress, which had been spattered in some places in coal dust. "I know. Now, where did you say your colleague would be?" 

Dawson described the neighbourhood's location and pulled out a map from his briefcase, but Olivia could hardly focus. She was so torn apart about Jonathan that she couldn't even imagine how badly Basil would be grieving, assuming they could even find him. From what she'd heard, he and his nephew had always been rather close. Of course, Basil would make it a point to try and hide any emotion, but that never got by Olivia.

Since they hadn't had much luck on a cab or a train, Olivia and Dr. Dawson decided they would find his colleague's house on foot, and with more wariness, now that the sky had turned dark, but especially now that they had lost a comrade. Olivia didn't try as hard to cover up her anxious trembling. It was no use trying to hide it from Dr. Dawson. Even if she did, he had known her for too long and knew all about her anxiety, which Basil had deduced a few years before was caused by the events of the Flaversham case and all of the danger she had been put in thanks to Professor Ratigan and his scheme. As the two were walking, Olivia kept trying to come to terms with what had happened. They wouldn't have fallen off of the train if they were never on the train, and the only reason they were on the train was because I suggested it, she silently realized. Three people are dead because of me. She hadn't thought of her mother much since Basil went missing, but now it seemed that she had caused another tragedy. Her very existence had caused two more deaths, even if one of them was a filthy scoundrel. _Because of me._

Jonathan stood up with a bit of difficulty. He had grass stains in some spots on his trousers and jacket. It was a miracle he hadn't broken any bones. In fact, it was a miracle that he was still alive. _Just a fall in the right direction,_ he thought. "And distance," he muttered under his breath as he saw Fidget stand up shakily. Noticing that the bat's revolver was only a few feet away, Jonathan tried to think of what Basil would do in this situation. He hesitated, not used to resorting to violence, or even threats. But as soon as Fidget spotted the gun as well, they both rushed for it at nearly the same time. They did get into somewhat of a scuffle, but in the end, Jonathan managed to pry the revolver away from the old bat. "Ratigan's alive too, isn't he?" he demanded, nervously pointing the gun at a frightened Fidget. 

"Alright, he is!" the bat replied, clearly fearing for his life. Of course Jonathan had no plans to kill him, but he found that he could use this fear to make some progress. He pointed the gun straight at Fidget with more confidence. 

"Now how is it possible that he survived a fall from Big Ben into the River Thames?" 

"We've found I can hover..." Fidget responded without a hint of mocking in his voice. Jonathan didn't need to press him for any more details regarding his boss. 

"One more thing, Fidget," he said angrily. "Where is my uncle?" 

"I don't know." With that, the revolver was pointed closer to him. "I'm tellin' the truth! Whatever happened to him, we had nothin' to do with it! We know 'bout as much as you!" 

Jonathan was puzzled, but he pulled the gun away. If Ratigan had nothing to do with his uncle's disappearance, what could have happened? "Well..." he tried to summon the right words, but he was at a loss for a moment. "Well...then why have you been trying to stop us from finding him?" Jonathan tried hard to think of any possible reasons.

"Look," Fidget said. "All we know is he disappeared. And if he's gone, Ratigan wants him to stay gone. Doesn't want 'im in the picture. He'd get in the way." 

"In the way?" Jonathan repeated with his thoughts broken, realizing that Ratigan must have had something disgusting planned. "In the way of what?" He pointed the gun back at Fidget, who stiffened up.


	11. Boss' Orders

Jonathan stood holding the gun, glaring at Fidget and repeated the question. "In the way of what?" he hissed. 

Fidget stammered. "Well, uh..." Jonathan didn't budge. "It's not exactly a 'what'." Fidget muttered. "Ratigan just doesn't want Basil to be in the way of the old lady." 

"Old lady?" Jonathan stood up straight, realising what the bat was implying. "You mean Mrs. Judson?!" 

"That 'er name?" 

"Why is Ratigan after her?" Jonathan demanded, although the answer was already clear. It was too easy to get into your enemy's mind by coming after their friends. "You were what she saw," he said in a hushed tone. "Basil said she collapsed out of shock, but it was you, wasn't it?" 

"Could be..." the bat trailed off, honestly not knowing whether or not this was the case. "Now look, I don't know what he'd do with the old hag, but he thinks it'll lure in Basil. Says he shoulda thought of it before." Jonathan clapped his hand over his face. Of course. he felt foolish for not having realised how easily Ratigan could trick Basil that way. Then his eyes widened as he remembered that they had only left Mrs. Judson with Mr. Flaversham, who, while a good man, wasn't quite a master of defense. There was no one in the way now.

Dr. Dawson knocked on his colleague's door, trying to ignore Olivia's dejected countenance facing downward. They waited a moment, but there was no answer. So again Dawson knocked, and again they waited. Olivia looked up in puzzlement when once again there was no answer. She stepped forward and tried turning the knob, but to no avail. It only made a quarter-turn. It was clearly locked, so Dawson knocked one more time, and after a bit more waiting, the two concluded that the doctor's old chum wasn't there. 

"Come along, my dear," Dawson sighed as he turned and started in the opposite direction. 

"But what about Basil?" Olivia replied, unwilling to simply give up and lose another friend. 

"Now, now, we'll think of something. I'm sure of it." 

Olivia sighed as well, and followed after him.

But once the two were nearly at the train station, Olivia stopped, hearing a rustle caused by something stirring in one of the shrubs lining the sidewalk. Of course, she had the good sense not to move any closer, but she froze in silence, only moving when a stout brown mouse jumped out of a shrub near Dr. Dawson and wrestled the man into a knotted rope, then placing him in a large burlap sack, not unlike the one Fidget had used to capture Olivia herself when she was a young girl. The sight caused a disturbing memory to rush through her mind, causing her to shriek as she was captured again, this time by what appeared to be a mole. The familiar feeling of the scratchy material of the sack sent her into a short panic, which stopped when her captor threw his free fist into her shoulder. Olivia tried to keep herself calm, as she always did in frightening situations. In her mind she summoned up the words her father and friends had always used when she went into this alarming state. _Deep breaths now, Olivia. Slow breaths._ She repeated these orders to herself until she landed with a thud on a white marble floor.


	12. The World's Greatest Criminal Mind

Jonathan had heard enough. He put the revolver in his jacket pocket and told Fidget to stand up. "Come on, you scoundrel," he said indignantly, motioning for the bat to follow him. Fidget was confused. 

"Wha- Where ya goin'?" 

"We're going to find Olivia and Dr. Dawson," Jonathan replied without facing Fidget. "No doubt your boss has done something with them. And I'm not going to let him do away with them." Although he wouldn't show it, Jonathan was sort of content with himself, thinking that he almost sounded like his uncle. And to the intimidated Fidget, he kind of did.

Olivia gritted her teeth and gripped her shoulder as she looked up to see a sickening grin on a familiar face. She gasped silently and stood up shakily, the ropes having come untied on the way to the old hideout. "Why," she hissed at Ratigan. "You ugly, depraved little-" She was cut off by the professor's smug laughter. 

"Miss Flaversham," he said in his disgusting "gentlemanly" tone. "What a delightful surprise. Oh, and Dr. Dawson!" He grinned at Dawson as the doctor stood up and glared at him. "Excellent job, boys." Ratigan thanked their captors. Olivia was fuming. She started to storm toward the old rat, but was held back by the mole, who kept an uncomfortably tight grip on her arms from behind. "Thank you, Bertram," Ratigan said. Olivia tried to ignore the pain on her arms. 

"What have you done with Basil?" she demanded, unwilling to play any of Ratigan's games. 

"Why, I've done nothing, Miss Flaversham!" the rat said defensively, in mock-surprise. "But that will change, I assure you." Bertram started to pull Olivia toward another wing, followed by Dawson and his captor.

As Jonathan walked, followed by Fidget, he tried to remember where Basil had said Ratigan's lair was found, but his thoughts were interrupted by Fidget's murmured singing behind him. "Dream on..." the bat hummed. "And drink your beer. Get cozy; your baby's-" 

"Fidget!" Jonathan cut him off in annoyance. _No surprise he's been spending quite some time in bars,_ he thought. Suddenly he stiffened up with realisation. _Bars._ He remembered that his uncle had reached Ratigan by following Fidget down a trap door that led to the sewer rat's lair. Jonathan took Fidget by the wing and rushed toward the waterfront.

Once they were at the bar where Fidget admitted to having heard the song, Jonathan hardly hesitated to enter and head straight for the hatch in the floor boards, despite protests from the bartender and head waitress. Fidget didn't seem to be especially stealthy, as the trap door was easily distinguished by an obvious brass handle. Jonathan rolled his eyes when he saw it. He wasn't nearly as intelligent as Basil, but anyone could find a hideout this way. He let go of Fidget's wing, stepped down through the door, and motioned for Fidget to follow.

Olivia sat sulking in a dank cell across from the one holding Dawson. Ratigan had clearly improved his security over the past nine years. She knew it wasn't the right time to be dejected, as she should have been thinking of some way to escape. Even the knowledge that she and Dawson could be killed didn't convince her to try. _I've already doomed three. What's two more?_ she started to think, but stopped herself. Dawson saw her and sighed, knowing he would have to try and lift her spirits. Of course, this was less of a burden than simply the moral obligation that came from having her for a friend. 

"There, there, my dear," he tried to comfort her from his cell. "I must admit, I feel somewhat at fault for this. But we'll get out alright." 

Olivia lifted her head toward the doctor, not quite cheered. It didn't help that Dawson was blaming himself. "We all make mistakes, Dawson," she said softly, thinking of her mother. "We mustn't let that stop us." 

_"Your mum would be impressed, you know,"_ she remembered Hiram saying. Would she, really? The young lady would never know, and with good reason. 

"Besides," she continued. "It wasn't your mistake, really." She felt like a hypocrite. What would Basil have thought of that? Olivia knew he could argue that her mother was merely a victim of circumstance, as well as Jonathan, but she couldn't help her feeling of responsibility. Knowing that anyone could justify this easily, she began to think it was perhaps grief that made her feel this way. Basil would never let grief stop him, she thought, having believed this for years. But she wasn't so sure now that his nephew was gone. Besides, Olivia wasn't Basil of Baker Street. No one was but the detective himself.

Dawson sat in his own cell and pondered a way for the two to escape, but not without dealing with Professor Ratigan first. But his thoughts were broken by the rat's voice echoing down the corridor. 

"Come on now, you two," Ratigan called harshly as he made his way toward their cells to unlock them, followed by Bertram and three more henchmen. One of them took the trembling Olivia with Bertram, the other two took Dawson, and they pulled the two back into what they assumed to be a party hall of sorts, where a crowd of ruffians were grinning with pleasure. "Friends," Ratigan's voice boomed over the crowd's side conversations. "This is truly a joyous occasion." Olivia glared at his smug face. "Thanks to our dear old... uh, acquaintances, Miss Flaversham and Dr. Dawson," he motioned toward Olivia, then to the riled doctor. "We have the pleasure of being introduced to this," Olivia gasped when she saw Mrs. Judson tied up in the hands of two ruffians pulling her toward Ratigan's throne (which had most likely been stolen at some point). "Charming old woman."

Jonathan succeeded in finding Ratigan's hideout, but didn't think it would be smart to enter immediately to confront him. Of course, he had to think of how to confront him first. So he ran to the entrance in the back of the lair and looked around frantically, hoping that something in his surroundings would inspire a plan. He searched even more quickly when he saw David Q. Dawson and Olivia inside, then stopped when he looked up to see a familiar face looking on at the depraved celebration going on below.


	13. The Mob

Jonathan gaped for a moment. "Uncle Basil!" he called up in a hushed tone. Basil turned in surprise. 

"Jonathan?!" he exclaimed as quietly as he could. "What are you doing here?" 

Jonathan wondered how it wasn't clear to a mouse as intelligent as his uncle. "We've been looking for you!" he replied. "What, have you been here this entire time?" He was almost angry at Basil for putting them through the past few weeks. 

"Of course not," Basil rolled his eyes and pointed toward a hound a short distance away. Jonathan looked in the direction his uncle was pointing. 

"Toby!" He couldn't believe what was happening. "But he's lost his sense of smell!" he argued. 

Basil sighed. "You're all so easy to fool," he muttered.

Some of Olivia's disbelief had worn off, but now she started to shake when she felt Bertram and some of Ratigan's other acquaintances pressing against her, testing her especially sensitive nerves. Under normal circumstances, she might have found something to keep her busy and distract her for a bit, but now she was surrounded and felt as though she was being closed in on. Her breaths became shaky. But she had to cover it up as best she could, or these ruffians could somehow use it against her. If they worked for Ratigan, there was no doubt they would take any chance they had to hurt anyone. She could only distract herself somewhat with her anger toward the professor. 

"Nine years," she called to Ratigan, who turned around. "That really is a lot of time for planning, isn't it? And in those nine years that you've been hiding like a coward, this is all you could think of?" She could tell she was angering Ratigan, but she didn't care so much. "Now tell me, how are you planning on gaining power this way?" 

Ratigan covered up his agitated expression with a polite grin. "Why," he replied. "That doesn't truly matter, Miss Flaversham. You see, power is no longer my primary goal. At the moment, I would be satisfied just to do away with your old friend," he almost growled as he mentioned his nemesis. "However," he calmed down a bit. "Should you like to issue me a challenge, Miss," he gestured toward Fidget, who was hobbling across the room with a twisted grin, holding up his revolver. "You may discuss it with Fidget." Olivia gasped. Hadn't Fidget died when he'd fallen off of the train? Then she remembered: _they'd found he could hover._

Jonathan felt his jaw drop when he heard this, realising that he hadn't kept his eye on Fidget and the bat had sneaked away. He checked his jacket pocket for the revolver, but it was empty. How had he not noticed Fidget take it?

Basil's blood boiled as he listened to his enemy's smug bragging. Ratigan had always fancied himself a genius, and that Basil could not deny. It was his false sense of superiority and his lust for power that made him such a detestable creature. "Jonathan," he called his nephew in a hushed tone and checked to make sure none of Ratigan's lackeys had sneaked up on either of them. "You stay here, do you understand me? I'll deal with our old friend. " He whistled to Toby, who perked up and ran over to the detective. Basil jumped onto the hound's head and ordered him to hurry to the front entrance.

Olivia concealed her fear as Fidget came closer with the gun, chuckling. She furrowed her eyebrows and gritted her teeth, and when the bat came too close to her face in an especially threatening way, she spit in his eye, sending him into a short daze. 

"Stop that, you fool!" scolded Ratigan, who then continued his despicable and yet subtle mocking. "It's nothing personal, Miss Flaversham. I do hope you realise that." 

Olivia looked up at the sewer rat in annoyance. "Come now, Ratigan," she retorted. "It was always personal." If she wasn't offended by his shameful treatment of her, Dawson, and Mrs. Judson, this would certainly do the trick. She turned away from Fidget and continued, "It's because of you my father almost died, it's because of you the same happened to me," she could feel her anger increasing with every word. "It's because of you Basil and Dr. Dawson were almost killed, and it's because of you that Jonathan is dead!" she raised her voice (little did she know that Jonathan could hear every word of her rant from above the crowd, and was shocked at that notion). If Ratigan hadn't sent Fidget to stop them from finding Basil, they wouldn't have been in such danger, whether Olivia had suggested taking the train or not. She couldn't have caused anyone's death. She was nothing like Ratigan, the murderous and despicable sewer rat. She tried to release her guilt for her mother's death, knowing in the back of her mind that it really was simply circumstance. People like Ratigan were the ones causing death where they could. None of it could be her fault, and she was surprised at herself for ever believing it was.

Just as Ratigan was about to lose his temper with Olivia for her accusations, a low growl was heard from the entrance to the room. Everyone looked over to see a dog's nose poking in through the door, in front of which stood none other than Basil of Baker Street. Olivia and Dr. Dawson gaped, and Ratigan snickered lowly. "Why, Basil of Baker Street!" he said in twisted delight. "What a marvelous surprise. I haven't seen you in so long!" 

Basil cleared his throat, unfazed. "Yes, yes," he said, looking around the room at the large crowd. "My, what a sizable assembly. Now, tell me, Ratigan. How on earth did you gain so many accomplices? Without your wretched cat, for that matter?" Ratigan almost stiffened up, remembering Felicia and realising that in the past nine years he hadn't thought of a legitimate sounding reason for his acquaintances to continue assisting him. Before the Flaversham case, he had always kept them under the threat of being sacrificed to his pet's appetite. Of course, there were other ways of keeping their respect, but none that he could conceive on the spot. Basil continued, "They do outnumber you, after all. Why, I'm surprised they haven't come to that realisation." 

"Oh, I'm sure they have," Ratigan countered. "But their loyalty is too great." 

Basil started to make his way toward the rat at his throne. "Well, you're very lucky to have so many faithful companions." He allowed his indignant irritation to show on his face. "I can't say the same for them, however." 

Ratigan knew all too well what was happening: just from their faces one could tell they were beginning to realise just how unfair of a leader he had always been. 

Basil turned to face them. "Think! What good reason could you possibly have to be on his side now? You would have to be a depraved, sadistic lunatic to support him!" The majority of the crowd seemed to agree; the rest of them apparently just enjoyed committing crimes. "If you wanted me here," Basil uttered in a hushed tone to Ratigan. "You could have sent a telegram."

Olivia was impressed at Basil's persuasiveness with Ratigan's now former henchmen, who were making an attempt to gang up on the professor. To their disadvantage, however, Ratigan surpassed them in size, though obviously not in number. She searched her range of vision until she spotted a sword leaning against a pile of riches, which had clearly also been stolen by the professor. She struggled to try to at least loosen the ropes scratching against her stomach and arms (which wasn't much comfort along with her corset). If she could reach the sword, she would be able to try and fend off Ratigan, who would undoubtedly try to use her life as blackmail. She shuddered, remembering his exact words: _"Stay where you are, or the girl dies!"_ Olivia shook her head quickly and continued struggling until she felt the untied ropes fall to her boots. She knew they couldn't have fallen so fast from her attempted method, so she turned around in confusion. 

"Jonathan!" she gasped when she saw the young man alive. For a moment she could hardly contain herself. She threw her arms around him, overjoyed. Of course she wondered how he had survived, but there was no time to explain anything.

Jonathan was a bit thrown off by Olivia, but he reminded himself that he had to consider the circumstances. He pulled away after a moment, trying to ignore the blood rushing to his cheeks, which Olivia, who covered her mouth while trying not to laugh, must have noticed. Luckily for the young man's pride, Basil sneaked over to the group from the commotion. 

"None of you should have gone off!" he scolded. 

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Well we wouldn't have if you hadn't vanished!" 

Basil ignored her counter. "Miss Ferguson-" 

"Flaversham," Olivia insisted. 

"Whatever! Why don't you two just bring Mrs. Judson back to Baker Street?" He looked to Olivia and Jonathan, who refused. 

"Basil, if it wasn't too dangerous for a little girl nine years ago, it couldn't be too dangerous now!" 

"It _was_ too dangerous nine years ago! Need I remind you that you were kidnapped twice in the events of that single case?" Basil grew indignant. 

"And you don't think I've learned from it?!" Olivia huffed. Basil rolled his eyes and turned away, opening his satchel and retrieving a pair of handcuffs in order to arrest Ratigan.

Olivia was still frustrated with Basil, but quickly remembered about the sword. She rushed toward it, but stopped when she saw that Ratigan had broken free of the mob surrounding him and picked it up himself. 

"No one come any closer!" he threatened, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Or you all die!" Ratigan ran out of his lair and into the pipe system that led back to the pub at the waterfront. The mob of henchmen stayed put, but Basil was unfazed. 

"Quickly, Dawson!" he called to his associate, running after the professor, soon followed by the rest of his acquaintances.


	14. The Redemption of the Helpless Olivia Flaversham

_This is real,_ Olivia had to remind herself over and over again, while trying to organize her thoughts, which was always easier when she wasn't running. _This is really happening. Jonathan is alive. Ratigan is alive. And that's why Basil was missing for two weeks. Mrs. Judson was in trouble and we didn't know about it. Even Basil didn't know about it._ She felt lightheaded. She was finding out too much at once, and had no choice but to absorb it all in nearly an instant.

As a little girl, while in terrible danger herself, she had witnessed three deaths in one night, and it changed her life in a way she preferred not to think about too much. None of them had ever been real, as she had believed for the last nine years. This night she had witnessed two more, which weren't real either. Now, nothing felt real. Not her trembling, which went unnoticed even to her among all of the commotion. Not the depraved sewer rat she and the others were pursuing. Not anything that had happened in the last two weeks - or even the last nine years. It all felt formulated somehow. The only things that felt real to her were the coal dust on her skirt, the burning sensation left by her ropes, and her undone, tangled hair that slapped against the back of her neck and brushed back and forth across her cheeks. She had to force herself to notice all of it so that she would be sure everything that she knew was true.

The reality of the situation forced itself back on her when she felt an all-too-familiar arm wrap uncomfortably around her ribcage and a blade hover in front of her throat. She felt as though someone had forced her into an extra corset and stuck five pins through both of them and into her left side. That instant, she snapped out of her daze and looked over her shoulder to see Ratigan grimacing toward Basil, who glared back at him with the others looking on in near panic. Olivia could see in Basil's face that he didn't believe she could do a thing; that her own fate was on his shoulders. She hung her head, distressed that everyone thought her so helpless. But why wouldn't they? How much help had she ever been in times like this one? 

"Just like old times," Ratigan screeched. "Don't you agree, Basil?"

Olivia tried her best to slow her breaths down and show no signs of panic or fear. The familiar emotions that had flurried through the young girl's head during the case nine years earlier all returned. She was scared, yes, and very worried, but mostly she was furious. Furious that her father and her friends had ever been put in such danger, furious that she was helpless, and furious that she had ever believed she could have costed anyone a life with scoundrels like Ratigan around. Remembering how she had felt about her mother, Olivia made up her mind that if she had been wrong about ever having killed anyone, perhaps she could be wrong in believing herself to be helpless. Clearly, Ratigan would have no problem slitting her throat if necessary, but she refused to let it come to that. If it did, he would win, and anyone who was anything like Ratigan didn't deserve to win. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of taking her. If she would die that night, it wouldn't be at Ratigan's hands.

Olivia struggled in Ratigan's grip, but the professor only laughed in the most nauseating way and tightened his hold. Finally though, she grasped Ratigan's arms and thrust herself downward, ducking out of his grasp and standing back up in front of him. With the sewer rat caught off guard, Olivia forced his sword away from him, knocking him backwards. Shakily, she pointed the sword toward him in the most threatening way she could without saying a word. But even with Ratigan cowering below her, Olivia wasn't sure what to do next. As much as he deserved to be killed, she couldn't bring herself to do it, so instead she stood in front of him with the sword raised, trying to think of what to do with the fiend at her disposal.


	15. The Bustle

Jonathan's pulse rushed as he looked on at the stand-down. He turned quickly to Basil. "What is she doing?" he asked frantically. 

"She never was quite cut out for this," Basil muttered almost to himself, and started toward Olivia and Professor Ratigan. Dawson quickly followed behind him, which didn't come as any surprise to Jonathan, though he wasn't sure it was a very smart thing to do, given the circumstances.

Olivia gave a fruitless effort to cover up her quaking, which seemed to please Ratigan, who snickered at the realisation that not only was she nerve-racked, but he had caused her to be this way. Olivia would have admitted defeat, but, even if she couldn't kill him, she could never allow him to win. Not after all of the pain he had caused. "Are you pleased with yourself, Ratigan?" she reprimanded him. "You've never been well, have you?" She lowered the sword, but kept a firm hold on it, knowing enough not to leave herself unguarded near Ratigan.

Jonathan was frantic watching the fiasco not twenty yards away from him. He had to help somehow. He tried his hardest to think of a way, but his thoughts were broken when Mrs. Judson interjected, "As much as your uncle and I...have our differences, you should have listened to him." Jonathan turned to the old woman in confusion. She continued to scold him. "Do you really think this is thrilling now? Is that gratifying to you?!" She motioned toward the standoff in obvious fear. Jonathan was speechless for a moment, contemplating what he had said to Basil about how exciting he thought it would be to solve a kidnapping. But that didn't matter. Mrs. Judson had always been one to berate when panicked, so it was no wonder she would be so critical of him now, but the important thing was to bring Ratigan to justice. He brushed off the worried old woman's comment and rushed back toward the lair, leaving her confused.

Olivia couldn't deny her worry upon seeing Jonathan run away again, but after what had happened on the train, she tried not to judge the situation so quickly. _He wouldn't abandon a fight,_ she told herself. Just then, Ratigan shoved her out of the way so that he could fight Basil and she fell onto the pavement, the sword tearing into her skirt on the way down. Luckily, it didn't wound her, but she could already feel the bruises that would form in a few spots. As she stood up, brushing off the shredded outside layer of her skirt, a human's car came speeding down the road and she had to hurry out of the way of the wheels. The car passed over her, but she wasn't hurt by it and did manage to get out of the way of the next one altogether. Coughing from the first car's exhaust, she made her way back toward Dawson, Basil, and Professor Ratigan, of whom the latter two were having another go at each other, brawling almost like wild beasts - with the rat winning.

By the time Jonathan finally reached Ratigan's hideout, he was out of breath. At the door, he stopped for a moment and scanned the room, searching for someone specific who had something he needed. Once he spotted Fidget having a drink by the fountain, he rushed to approach the bat and demanded the revolver. 

"Not a chance, Jonny," Fidget refused. "If Ratigan comes back, I'mma need this more than you do!" 

"If you just give it to me, he won't come back at all! Now hand it over!" Jonathan grew more and more impatient by the second. He stared Fidget down with fury, causing him to give in and hand him the gun. Jonathan grabbed it hastily and rushed back outside. "No, ma'am, this hasn't been gratifying," he called over his shoulder as he ran past Mrs. Judson. "But this might be."


	16. Back to Baker Street

Olivia watched in panic as Basil and Ratigan continued going at each other, and hastily decided that her friend needed a weapon much more than she did. However, rather than hand off the sword to him like she'd believed was logically the best solution, she stepped between the two adversaries, blocking Basil.

"What are you doing?" the detective demanded. "Do you want to get yourself killed?"

Olivia ignored him and held up the sword, staring down the professor, who proceeded to catch her off guard by taking out his own weapon: a slightly smaller sword, but a threat nonetheless. _Where did he get that?_ she had to refrain from saying out loud.

The two of them started their duel immediately, and Olivia had to admit that he was obviously far more skilled than she. Nevertheless, she didn't let herself waver for even a moment, even when Basil tried to tell her to hand the sword over to him, or even take it from her. She managed to wound Ratigan's shoulder to the point where he could only fight with his non-dominant right hand, but she still soon found herself pinned down. She held both ends of her sword up to defend herself and managed to kick him off of her, but in the split second she took to catch her breath the professor had already begun to charge at her again. He paused, however, when they both became aware of the sound of something gigantic rolling along on the gravel.

Jonathan muffled his fear as best he could as he ran into the street, but it became especially difficult when he spotted two blinding headlights. Almost without thinking, he readied his weapon and pulled the trigger, hoping to hit any part of the car that would stop it. But he hadn't anticipated the recoil, so he jumped back as soon as the gun went off and couldn't see if the bullet had struck anything.

Olivia couldn't move. She closed her eyes, thinking it more than likely that this car would pass over her as well. She didn't want to see it, though. The thought of being underneath it only frightened her more for whatever reason. She only opened them upon hearing a piercingly loud gunshot. The professor tried to continue the brawl once more, but one of the nearing car's front tires had been shot and the vehicle swerved for a moment, its other front tire crushing him and just missing Olivia.

Olivia and Basil could hardly believe what they had just seen. Of course, the goal all along had been to stop the fiend by any means necessary, but it was still chilling. Olivia had been so dazed by the gun that she hadn't heard Ratigan's scream as he was run over. Basil had, though. He couldn't quite call it a satisfying thing to hear, but it certainly wasn't horrific either. He and Olivia looked to their left to see who had shot the tire, and soon the latter spotted Jonathan, who was just getting up after the recoil had caused him to fall to the ground. She hurried toward him, Basil not far behind, and threw her arms around him, almost completely relieved for the first time in weeks.

"Jonathan, did you see what you just did?" She kissed him on the cheek as he returned her embrace. Several feet away, Basil was trying his best to stifle a chuckle as he saw his nephew's face turn red.

"You realise this does make you a hero of sorts, don't you, young man?"

Olivia let go of Jonathan and turned to Basil indignantly.

"You as well, Miss Flestchester," he corrected himself reluctantly.

Jonathan was nearly speechless. _Heroes._

* * *

The small celebration back at 221 1/2 Baker Street was especially jubilant, as the group, save an exhausted Mrs. Judson, rejoiced at Ratigan's defeat over cheese crumpets and cider. Of course, Olivia was as glad as the rest, but there was still one last conflict left unresolved. Her first sight of her father upon her return home had brought her down from her high and reminded her of what she still needed to know. Yes, she knew how her mother had died, but it wasn't enough to overhear it. She didn't feel she would be satisfied until she heard what her father could tell her. She knew he would be hesitant, but she had to get it out of him.

She was silent during the cab ride home, worrying Hiram.

"Olivia, is there something wrong?" he asked as soon as they were inside their house.

Olivia let out a sigh. _Don't let him avoid it,_ she told herself. _Just be strong. It's time to be strong._ She took a deep breath. "I know what happened," she admitted after a pause. Hiram gave her a look of surprise and slight confusion. "To Mum, I mean," she continued more quietly.

"Who told you?" her father responded worriedly. "It wasn't Dr. Dawson, was it?"

"No one had to. But why didn't you?"

Hiram soon put together that she must have overheard him, and knew he couldn't get out of discussing it with her. "She died giving-"

"Giving birth to me. I know."

"I didn't want you to think it was your fault."

"I don't, Daddy. And I could never stand the idea of not knowing about her my whole life. Seventeen years was far too long as it is. I'm not a little bairn anymore."

"I'm so sorry... It wasn't fair to keep it from you, I know." The guilt from hiding it from her that Hiram had been repressing for years started to leave him.

Olivia hugged her father tightly, tears starting to fill her eyes. This was all she had ever wanted from him. "Thank you, Daddy," she said as she let go and made her way toward her bedroom, weary from all of the excitement.

And that night, for the first time in a long while, Olivia Flaversham slept entirely sound.


End file.
